OUSD's federal funding could run short again next year

OCEANSIDE —— Oceanside Unified may have lost its status as a
"mostly military" school district for a while at least, a district
official said Friday.

After spending the last two months collecting surveys from
parents to find out how many of them work for the federal
government, the district is still falling short of the number of
students it needs to qualify for up to $1.4 million in federal
funding next year, according to district Associate Superintendent
Robyn Phillips.

The district's enrollment must include at least 20 percent of
students whose parents work for the federal government to fully
qualify for what is known as "federal impact aid."

The 2004-05 school year is the first time the district lost some
of this extra funding, based on last year's tally of students that
showed 18.7 percent of them had parents working for the federal
government.

Typically, the district receives up to $18 million overall in
federal money, including funding to offset a loss of local property
tax revenue for students who live on base. But it receives even
more if it shows that at least 20 percent of the district's
students are related to federal workers.

Last year, the district received $4.6 million extra, compared
with $3.2 million this year —— a $1.4 million loss —— because it
dipped below the 20 percent threshold, according to officials.

Because the district collects funding based on the enrollment in
the previous year, officials began an aggressive campaign in
October to collect federal surveys from parents to find out how
many work or live on a military base or other federal property.

So far the district is falling short of the 20 percent
threshold, Phillips said.

"We've made a real effort to call parents and follow up," she
said. "People have returned the (survey) cards. But we think we'll
still fall short."

The surveys are due by the end of January. While no figures were
available Friday, Phillips estimated that the district needs to
document at least 100 more students to collect all the available
impact aid money.

Students who count toward the district's 20 percent include
those whose parents work on federal property, including all
military bases, American Indian tribal lands, including casinos,
immigration offices, homeland security offices, FBI offices,
federal farmlands, Border Patrol offices, or who live in federally
subsidized housing, often called Section Eight housing.

While the surveys are sent each year, many are never returned,
officials have said.

The loss in federal funds was caused in part by a decline in the
numbers of students who live on Camp Pendleton and attend base
schools, officials said. They said an overall enrollment drop ——
about 1,500 students in the last two years —— also contributed to
the loss in federal money.

The $1.4 million is just a small portion of the district's $156
million annual budget, but it represents roughly one-third of the
spending reductions the district has weathered since July.